Reinfusion systems are commonly used to collect and infuse shed blood in post-operative situations. Typically, such reinfusion systems comprise a device, such as a canister equipped to collect shed blood and reinfuse blood through a separate orifice. The blood collected is reinfused directly to a patient from the system through a catheter or needle.
These reinfusion systems are somewhat limited in the rate at which the collected blood may be reinfused to a patient. In the known reinfusion systems described above, safety and practicality issues dictate that collected blood may be reinfused only as quickly as gravity permits. In addition, as the collected blood is reinfused through a needle or catheter, the blood flow can be restricted considerably, further slowing the rate at which reinfusion occurs. The systems are further limited in capacity. In particular, the amount of blood which can be collected and reinfused is limited by the size of the collection chamber within the canister. Further, as blood is aspirated from the wound site faster than it can be reinfused to the patient, the volume of the collection chamber is quickly filled to capacity.